Analysis and Representation of 3D GPR Data Acquired across Archaeological Sites

Three-dimensional (3D) ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying is becoming an increasingly valuable tool in archaeological prospecting. To extract structural details from 3D GPR data usually requires interpretation of multiple vertical cross-sections and/or multiple horizontal slices. Such multiple representations are difficult to incorporate in integrated GIS-based analyses. Using a new 3D GPR data set acquired across the buried remains of a Roman villa complex in Switzerland, we demonstrate the benefits of two new attributes for GIS-based interpretations: (i) the cumulative reflectivities over time intervals containing all significant reflections, and (ii) the times of the amplitude-envelope maxima. When combined, these attributes yield most of the critical summary information in the form of only one or two colour-coded maps.